Wildlife returns to famous lake in wake of cleanup

Pilot program

In 2019, the Ulansuhai Nur Basin was chosen by the ministries of finance, natural resources, and ecology and environment to pilot a holistic conservation program and systematic governance of all types of terrain.

"Mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grassland and deserts are a life community" is one of the 10 tenets of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, whose core principle is the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency the same year, the total planned investment for the pilot project totals 5.6 billion yuan ($768 million).

Key programs include the control of desertification, remediation of former mining areas, conservation of soil and water, protection of biodiversity and control of agricultural pollution, and the restoration of connectivity between different bodies of water.

For example, in the Hetao irrigation area, local authorities have rolled out a campaign that is designed to control the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, water and mulching film, according to the Bayannuur government.

The city has overseen a decline in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides since 2018, it said, adding that a series of measures have been rolled out to prevent wastewater from entering the lake.

In addition to strengthening its sewage-disposal capabilities, Bayannuur has made all-out efforts to fully tap the potential of reclaimed water to help meet demand for industrial use and landscaping, it said. Unused reclaimed water is now diverted into constructed wetlands for purification before being discharged into Ulansuhai Nur, it added.

To further promote improvements in water quality and environmental remediation in the lake, local authorities have diverted an average of approximately 600 million cubic meters of water into it every year since 2018.

In the Ulan Buh Desert, the country's eighth-largest arid area, which is located in the upper areas of Ulansuhai Nur, a number of projects have been launched that sustainably integrate desert control, solar energy generation and the development of agriculture.

For example, under the program, herbs are planted beneath solar panels. In Dengkou county, most of which is covered by the desert, the construction of a base that follows the model commenced in April last year.

With 740,000 solar modules, the base is expected to generate 726 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year and produce herbs worth 30 million yuan, while greening 800 hectares of desert, the Dengkou government said.